Stepfather accused of killing student after beach walk with her mother
A 19-year-old university student, Carla Georgescu, has been found dead and her stepfather Nathan Owens, 34, is on trial for her murder at Preston Crown Court. The prosecution alleges Owens developed a "dangerous sexual obsession" with his stepdaughter and strangled her at her student accommodation on February 4th. He was allegedly motivated by "sexual jealousy" after discovering she was about to meet an online boyfriend in person.
Owens drove from Hartlepool to Carla's flat at the University of Lancashire campus in Preston, arriving at 4am and departing 90 minutes later. The most striking aspect of the case is that, whilst Carla's body lay undiscovered, Owens appeared entirely normal: her mother Janina said he seemed his "usual self" when she saw him later that morning, and the couple went on their regular beach walk and shopping. The prosecution alleges his disturbing fixation included having sexual relations with a life-sized effigy of his teenage stepdaughter. He only admitted visiting the flat after hospital staff informed his wife of how Carla had died, initially claiming she had asked him to bring incontinence pants and help tidy her room; prosecutors say this was an attempt to cover his tracks.
- Stepfather on trial for allegedly murdering 19-year-old university student stepdaughter
- He appeared "normal" and went beach walking while her body lay undiscovered
- Prosecution alleges he had obsessive sexual fixation and was motivated by jealousy
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A 19-year-old university student, Carla Georgescu, was found dead in her accommodation at the University of Lancashire in Preston in February 2026. Her stepfather, Nathan Owens, aged 34, has been accused of her murder.
The prosecution alleges that Owens developed an inappropriate fixation on his stepdaughter, driven by sexual jealousy when he learned she was about to meet an online boyfriend in person. On the morning Carla died, he drove from Hartlepool to her flat in the early hours and remained there for roughly 90 minutes.
After leaving the flat, Owens appeared unaffected when Carla's mother Janina saw him later that morning—she described him as his "usual self." The couple went on a regular beach walk and shopping trip together. Owens initially denied visiting the flat, only admitting to it after hospital staff told his wife of Carla's death.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Stepfather ‘who had sex with effigy of 19-year-old before killing her went on beach walk with her mother while her body lay undiscovered’”.